College of Arts, Sciences and Education

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
School Year 2019-2020
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 101

THE PRAYER
I. WHAT IS PRAYER?
a. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
b. Prayer is turning our heart toward God, to converse with Him in worship. (Psalm 122, 123)
c. Christian prayer is “response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy
Spirit”.
d. In simpler terms, PRAYER IS COMMUNICATING WITH GOD – listening and speaking with
God.

II. WHY SHOULD WE PRAY? (Luke 11:5-13)

a. God calls us so to do. (Matthew 11:28; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:6-7)
b. Desire to know God and be known by Him.
c. Need of grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
d. God responds to the prayers of His people.

III. WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY?

a. We should pray morning, noon and night, and whenever we are aware of our need for God’s
special grace. And we should learn “to pray without ceasing” as we grow in knowledge of God’s
nearness. (Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10-13; Matthew 15:21-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Hebrews
4:16).

IV. HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG SHOULD WE PRAY?

a. How often do you wish to listen and speak with God? Aside from Sunday public worship, some
people set a time every day to be their quiet time with God. Others treat it like ‘flextime’ and fit
prayer into the other responsibilities of their day. First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful
always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you, in
Christ Jesus”.

V. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?

a. We should pray with humility, love and a ready openness to God’s will, in our heart hearing God
say, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10-11; 2 Chronicles 7:14-15; Philippians 4:6)

VI. OF WHAT SHOULD WE BE CERTAIN IN PRAYER?

a. We should be certain that God hears our prayers. We should be also certain that in response, he
will grant us all that we actually need, by his wisdom, in his time and for his glory.
(Deuteronomy 6:24; Esther 4:16; Proverbs 15:29; Ephesians 3:14-21)

VII. WHAT SHOULD WE REMEMBER WHEN PRAYERS SEEM TO BE UNANSWERED?

a. God always hears our prayers and answers them in His wisdom and in his own time, sometimes
withholding blessings for our discipline, and sometimes giving better than we ask. (Matthew 6:8)

VIII. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY IN TIMES OF SUFFERING?

a. How should we join our sufferings to those of Jesus Christ, trusting in the sufficiency of his
grace, and joyfully assured that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces
character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.” (Romans 5:3-5; 2
Corinthians 1:5; Philippians 3:10; Hebrews 5:8-9).
IX. WHAT OBSTACLES MAY HINDER OUR PRAYERS
a. Our prayers may be hindered by distractions, laziness, pride, selfishness, discouragement, sin
and lack of faith.

X. ARE THERE DIFFERENT WAYS TO PRAY?

a. Yes. Prayer can be private or public, liturgical or extemporaneous; personal prayer can be vocal,
meditative or contemplative.
i. Vocal prayer is to pray to God using spoken words.
ii. Meditative – to prayerfully read and reflect upon Holy Scripture according to its intended
meaning with openness to personal spiritual direction from God.
iii. Contemplative – to lift our heart in love to God without any deliberative flow of thoughts
or words.

XI. WHAT ARE THE FOUR KINDS OF PRAYER?

a. ADORATION – praising God for who God is and for what God has done.
“Almighty God, giver of life and health…”
“Father of mercies and God of comfort…”
“O Lord of compassion and mercy…”

b. CONFESSION – expressing sorrow for sins and asking God’s forgiveness, mercy and pardon.
“We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we
have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole
heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly
repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we
might delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

c. THANKSGIVING – thanking God for all the blessing received and giving thanks to God in all
circumstances.
“Thank you, Lord, for all that you do for me. Thank you for dying on the cross to save me
from my sins. Thank you for my family and friends. Thank you for the chance to learn and
to get a good education. Thank you for giving me clothes to wear and food to eat. Thank
you for everything.”

d. SUPPLICATION – asking God to provide for our needs and for the needs of the world.
Please, Lord, help me to be a better person. Help me to be more loving and caring. Help
me to able to do well in school. Help me to understand what the teachers are teaching.
Please bless my family and friends…
 ACTIVITY!
I. Identify Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (ACTS) in each prayer below.
(Note: The following prayers does not have the whole ingredients of ACTS)

a. Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who,
following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom,
patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and
the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Saviour Jesus
Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

b. Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thank you for your gifts of healing and
forgiveness; for the grace to love and care for each other, for your hidden blessings, and
for all you store for us; for everything, whether joy or sorrow whereby you draw us to
yourself, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

c. Dear God, thank you for looking after our school. Thank you that you love each and
every one of us here. Help us to learn, play and share together, so that the wonderful
world you have made becomes more beautiful every day. Amen.

d. Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, to real to hide, and deep to undo. Forgive
what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become
for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open
to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in
your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

e. Dear Lord, on this day that we celebrate Joshua’s birthday, we pray for blessings and joy
over Him. You knew everything about him before his birth and you have a plan of
prosperity and hope for his life. Let him feel confident and ready for the year ahead
knowing that you have an order to his steps and a purpose for his life. Help him to find
joy in every circumstance in life, knowing that You work all things out for good. We
thank you for Joshua, for loving him with unconditional love, and for the promises you
have spoken over his life. In Jesus Name. Amen.

II. The Lord’s Prayer has four main parts namely: (a) the address, (b) the seven
petitions/supplications, (c) doxology, (d)conclusion. Using the traditional version below,
IDENTIFY THE SEVEN PETITIONS and be able to reason out your answers.

“Our Father, Who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.”

III. Compose your own prayer for the following that has all the ingredients of Adoration Confession
Thanksgiving and Supplication. (Warning: Do not copy what is in the internet/any reading
paraphernalia or all else you will receive a zero score for these)
a. Before class
b. Before meal
c. Before sleeping
*Use short bond paper, Times New Roman 12, single space, 1 inch margin for this assignment.